Restaurant Rulz
I mostly agree with WaPo blogger Ezra Klein’s post on the Cheesecake Factory, although I think he’s off base on one point:
If I had gone to the Cheesecake Factory with the intention of ordering relatively healthfully, it’s pretty likely that the miso salmon would have ended up on my plate. A heart-healthy fish with a soy-based glaze? What could be better?
A lot, as it turns out. On first glance, I would have figure the salmon for the lightest entree, followed by the chicken piccata, the carbonara, and the crispy beef. Not so. The salmon weighs in at 1,673 calories — which is to say, a bit more than 75 percent of the food an adult male should eat in a day. The piccata is a comparably slim 1,385 calories. The crispy beef is 1,528 calories. And the carbonara? 2,191. The answer might be that someone looking for a healthful meal shouldn’t go to the Cheesecake Factory. But insofar as you’re already there, or your family wants to go there, making a good decision isn’t a particularly straightforward proposition.
Emphasis mine. Sure, I agree completely with his point about the importance of knowing the calorie values of restaurant menu items. But the calorie counts he’s quoting are for full entrees, which are hyoooge, and include sauces and (an often) heaping pile o’ starch. But it doesn’t have to be that way… I’ve eaten at Cheesecake Factory before, and have emerged unscathed by following my usual ”restaurant rules.”
- Pass on any bread/butter (or chips/salsa in Mexican restaurants)
- Pass on any drinks except water, tea (I make occasional exceptions for a single glass of wine)
- Order grilled chicken or fish (if it comes sauced, leave most of it on the plate)
- Ask the server to hold the rice or potatoes and substitute a veg (if one already comes with the entree, I ask for double veggies. In Asian restaurants, when rice is put on the table, I simply ignore it).
- Skip dessert (order some decaf if others are ordering dessert)
- Eat only until comfortably full – bring leftover food home in a “doggie bag” for a later meal.
Thus, making a good decision IS a straightforward proposition, if that’s really what you want to do. While developing an awareness of portion sizes and calorie counts is a good thing, it’s even better to have a set of food “values” to live by that can be relied on to mitigate any damage, regardless of where you’re dining, be it Cheesecake Factory, La Grenouille or IHOP.
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Makster on 18 Nov 2009 at 10:40 am #
This past summer I had to attend a school in Virginia Beach. The hotel we stayed in was next door to a Cheesecake Factory. I had been to one before, but a long time ago.
The last day of the school, my wife and I had supper there. I ordered a chicken salad. I told them I wanted grilled chicken breast with the dressing on the side. I used very little dressing and I felt the meal did no harm.
I did see some of the things that other people ordered. Most of their servings seemed way to big. If people fallowed you’re advice, a doggy bag would be in order for sure.
It did look like a lot of cheesecake was being served!!!!!!
Elissa on 18 Nov 2009 at 4:45 pm #
LOL – I do think that Cheesecake Factory was a somewhat unfortunate example to use to make the argument that Klein was trying to make – as most people who care about their waistlines aren’t going to voluntarily go to a place called “Cheesecake Factory” in the first place. The name says it all. It’s obvious he understands this too, which is why he argues from a “let’s pretend you’re stuck going there” POV.
But yes, it’s an eye-opener to see what many other people pack away while they’re there, for sure. The portions ARE massive, and if you a) ate everything set in front of you; and b) ordered dessert on top of it, you could easily put down an entire day’s worth of cals in one sitting – if not more.
Needless to state, I support posting calorie/nutritional info on principle – people have a right to know what they’re eating. This info is mandatory for packaged food products, after all, and there’s no rational reason why chain restaurants shouldn’t follow suit. But I’m not so naive as to think that – as a stand alone measure – it’s a panacea for the obesity crisis… after all, people tend to ignore the calorie/portion info on commercial, packaged food products, too.
Ultimately, places like Cheesecake Factory can’t be viewed in isolation – rather they’re one link in a chain of behaviors.
For the record, though, I don’t agree with Klein that the food there “rocks.” I found it to be ok – perfectly edible, but nothing outstanding.
Makster on 19 Nov 2009 at 10:08 am #
I think the draw to the Cheesecake Factory is the Cheesecake. That is what it seemed like most people were going to indulge in, even after a big meal.
I agree with you that this is just an example of many places where indulgance is promoted. As with anything you can make a good choice, or a bad one.
Elissa on 19 Nov 2009 at 5:59 pm #
Many years ago, I recall a comment made by a psychologist who worked w/people with food issues… I don’t recall her exact words, but the gist of it was, if you’re eating a meal just so you can get to the dessert, skip the meal, and have the dessert first.
One of the other things she discussed, which struck me as wise, was to differentiate between foods that “hum” and foods that “sing.” “Humming” foods were defined as the ones you eat simply because they’re there. “Singing” foods, on the other hand, represented specific cravings. Foods that “sing” to you are the ones that leave you feeling deprived if you don’t have them.
The point was that “singing” foods are ones that are often labelled “bad”, and need to be avoided because they’re high in cals. But there are two problems with that. The first is that, when people finally give in and eat the foods they really crave, it turns into a pig-out. It’s the act of giving in that’s the “sin”, so it stands to reason that it might as well be carried to excess, since this is the “last” time it’s going to happen (which it never is…). The second problem, is that – even if they don’t give in – people will tend to “eat around” a craving, and perhaps end up eating more than they otherwise might have, if they’d just let themselves have the thing they really wanted to begin with.
So, to make a long story short, if the cheesecake is what people really want when they walk in the door, they should skip the meal… and order the cheesecake! There is nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence, especially since it can be accomodated easily within a larger framework of healthy eating.
Pass (on) the Popcorn! on 20 Nov 2009 at 4:38 am #
[...] the Cheesecake Factory meals we were discussing yesterday, munching movie theater popcorn isn’t exactly an every day thing. But it’s not [...]
Makster on 20 Nov 2009 at 10:42 am #
Agreed, an occasional indulgence is not only O.K., but for me, needed at times.
Speaking of that, have a great Thanksgiving!!
Elissa on 20 Nov 2009 at 5:03 pm #
You too!
Vincent on 20 Nov 2009 at 11:50 pm #
Oh man, props to the psychologist. I never realized how well that describes me!
Elissa on 21 Nov 2009 at 3:35 am #
It struck a chord with me too, when I first read it (we’re going back about 25 years here… ). Although I never had a weight problem and ate largely healthy foods, I was frequently gaining and losing the same 5 – 10 pounds… which is pretty much s.o.p. for a lot of apparently weight-stable people. I also divided foods into “good” and “bad” categories, went on the occasional extremely low cal diet (never for very long, fortunately), and even had “pig outs” at times, too.
I think it’s safe to say that I had an “uneasy” relationship with food…
What she wrote got me to thinking… and I can recall when I first started “trying on” menu items in restaurants. I’d peruse the menu, visualize each item and ask myself: what do I REALLY want?
Sometimes, nothing “sung” to me, so I was free to order something healthy. Other times, however, there was something that clearly stood out, and that would be what I ordered. Funny thing is, when you give yourself permission to eat “forbidden” things, they lose their power… you know you can have them if you really want them, so they stop becoming such a big deal.